Gonzaga recruiting notebook: Five-star shooting guard Isiah Harwell commits to Houston over GU, other finalists

Gonzaga will have to continue building its 2025 recruiting class without one of the top prospects in the country.

Isiah Harwell, a five-star recruit who’s widely considered the top shooting guard in the 2025 recruiting class, committed to Houston on a YouTube live stream with On3.com’s Joe Tipton on Thursday morning.

Harwell had previously released a list of four finalists – Houston, Gonzaga, California and Texas – but the Pocatello native and Wasatch (Utah) Academy standout was thought to be focused on two schools – the Big 12 Cougars and West Coast Conference Zags – down the stretch of his recruitment.

“Really just because of the culture and I fit in there,” Harwell told Tipton on Thursday when asked about his decision. “Coach (Kelvin) Sampson and the staff believes in me and it’s a great place. It’s a great place.

“… Everybody’s a family there, they always make each other at home. We talk to each other, they never leave everybody out. It’s a great little place.”

A 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard, Harwell took multiple visits to GU’s campus, traveling for an official visit on Feb. 24 to take in a home game against Santa Clara. Gonzaga’s coaching staff was reported to be completing a final in-home visit with Harwell and his family last week, along with staffs of his other finalists.

Harwell had high praise for Gonzaga and Mark Few’s offensive system while talking with The Spokesman-Review during his visit in February.

“They play with pace, they play in transition well, they play through their guards and bigs,” Harwell said. “When they have a mismatch, they go for it. I feel like I bring a lot to the table because I’m a big guard. I feel like that creates a lot of mismatches, so I feel like it’s a great system.”

Harwell visited Gonzaga officially before touring the other schools that made his final cut. Recruiting websites began to peg Houston as Harwell’s top choice after he completed visits to both of the Texas-based schools on his list in late August.

On3.com gave the Cougars an 86.5% chance of landing the guard on Thursday morning, hours before Harwell announced his decision.

Update on Khamenia

Gonzaga may have suffered another significant blow on the recruiting front Thursday.

Nik Khamenia, a four-star power forward who’s been on the Bulldogs’ radar for three years, may no longer be considering Gonzaga approximately one month after unveiling his five college finalists.

Along with the Zags, Khamenia is considering North Carolina, Duke, Arizona and UCLA, but an article from On3.com indicated only three are still in play for the 6-8 recruit from Harvard Westlake High School in Southern California.

“A source close to the recruitment recently told me they do not expect Gonzaga or UCLA to be the choice,” On3.com recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw wrote in an article published Thursday morning. “Another source told me this week that, at this time, they feel that things are still somewhat open for Khamenia, but if they had to choose today it would be for either Arizona or UNC.”

Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, a longtime Gonzaga assistant under Few, recently coached Khamenia on the United States’ FIBA U18 World Cup gold medal-winning team.

Similar to Harwell, Khamenia has taken multiple official and unofficial visits to Gonzaga.

Along with his five finalists, the Los Angeles product lists offers from high-major programs, including Creighton, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois and Oregon.

As things stand, the Zags have a commitment from one player in the 2025 recruiting class, four-star shooting guard Davis Fogle of Anacortes, Washington, and Compass Prep (Phoenix).

Flemings focused on Big 12 schools

Kingston Flemings, a 6-3 point guard, recently listed Gonzaga, Texas, Texas Tech, Houston and Arkansas as his five finalists, but the four-star prospect is reportedly concentrated on the two Big 12 schools, according to On3.com.

Flemings is set to take official visits to Houston on Sept. 28 and Gonzaga on Oct. 4, but a report from On3.com Thursday afternoon indicated Houston and Texas Tech are most likely to land a commitment from the nation’s top point guard.

“Even with other visits and school still publicly in play here, a source close to the recruitment recently told me that they expect Flemings will end up going to either Houston or Texas Tech,” Shaw wrote. “I am told that Arkansas recently made a push, and that is something worth monitoring, however, I asked another person close to the recruitment about the Razorbacks this week, and they told me point-blank that Flemings is not going to play for John Calipari.”

According to Shaw, Houston is “the leader in the clubhouse” when it comes to Flemings’ recruitment. He could give the Cougars their second five-star recruit after Harwell’s commitment .